Sent by her father to an all-girls academy in Switzerland, young Jennifer Corvino arrives in the midst of a series of grisly murders that have been occurring throughout the area. While sleepwalking one evening, she witnesses such an event herself, flees, and ends finding herself lost in the nearby woods. Thankfully, she is saved by the animal assistant of a kindly entomologist named John McGregor, who notices Jennifer's special interactions that she seems to have with an assortment of insects. Believing her to have some sort of psychic connection with the creatures, he keeps the thought in mind as Jennifer returns back to where stays. After an EEG seemingly proves to be useless, the string homicides continue to pile up, and John realizes that Jennifer's secret gift may prove to be a useful tactic in tracking down the psychopath that is responsible.
Well, I'd like to think that during this last week leading up to the big, bad day that we of little faith love and adore, I should try to sneak in as much consistency as possible. So, why not something from Italian horror giant Dario Argento? Debate in the community always runs rampant over if some filmmaking greats were "overrated" or had a more questionable filmography than one believes, but nearly everyone out there can agree on the master of projects like Suspiria deserving all the praise in the world for his beautifully twisted approach towards foreign cinema. Plus, and forgive me for the spoilers, this won't be the first time that he'll make an appearance on here.
Other than sporting one heck of a weird premise, Phenomena (initially edited and released in the U.S. as Creepers) is filled with a very fascinating list of performers, both in front of the camera and behind it. Making her third appearance on the big screen is a very young Jennifer Connelly, who would land a breakout role in cult favorite Labyrinth only one year after this film dropped. It isn't hard to see the star potential in the (then) fourteen-year-old actress, as she does a terrific job with a character that would normally be laughed or scoffed at in this day and age. I can't help but wonder if some random stranger has ever approached her on the street before, asking if she can speak to their pet praying mantis or rhinoceros beetle (I imagine the response would be akin to "he says you're an asshole"). The extremely underrated Donald Pleasence (Halloween, You Only Live Twice) pops up here and there as Jennifer's confidant and ally, whose own primary companion prior to their first interaction is a pet chimpanzee named Inga. Unsurprisingly, the former turns in a very solid performance himself, though one wishes that he received a tad bit more screen time. Aside from that, a majority of the cast in this Italian-based production make the conscious decision to dub over their own voices with very mixed results. Outside of their body language, it can be a tad bit difficult to properly review their own portrayals. Personally, I'm always intrigued in tracking down original audio tracks for films that do not originate from the states (no matter the genre), so that may be worth purchasing in the near future.
In concerns to the aforementioned material and list of names that are not physically featured on screen, there is quite a bit to praise here. A brief glance at Phenomena's soundtrack is enough to get one excited, as it features not just Italian composing legends Goblin (heard throughout previous entry Contamination), but choice cuts from notable heavy metal acts like Iron Maiden and Motorhead. There are multiple uses and snippets of the former's track from Powerslave titled "Flash of the Blade" that play whenever a young girl is in serious danger or being pursued; had the vocals not kicked in, the effect of fear and dread would have been absolute bliss. Letting the full song play was a bit of an odd choice, but perhaps they thought that "Transylvania" or "Remember Tomorrow" were too old to use at that point. Thankfully, Goblin's absolutely awesome score is on point: it is brilliantly suspenseful, exciting, and all too fitting of the time period that this takes place during. Its crafting goes along rather well with how neat-looking Phenomena appears to the watcher's eye. Even with the less-than-stellar print that I stumbled across online, the movie is shot very well, sporting some solid lighting, cinematography, and good use of colors. Outside of that, the flick is surprisingly quite brutal and grotesque at times, though serious fanatics who are obsessed with solely bloodshed may find themselves a little disappointed until the final, absolutely insane third act kicks in. I hate to steal a line from someone like Eli Roth, but the Italians most assuredly know how to the put the "gore" in "gorgeous."
Movies like Phenomena are a rare treat during marathons such as these. It's a very ambitious, peculiar, and all-around unique piece of cinema. The arguments that horror can never be viewed as art, or that nothing great has come out past a certain point of a certain decade have always flabbergasted me, and though I wouldn't call it a perfect picture by any means, it is highly recommended for those who are seeking out something that deviates a bit from the norm (and is reportedly the personal favorite of its own director, who even includes references to his own strange childhood in the pages of the script). Sadly, tracking down an inexpensive copy of this Argento release can be a bit tricky, as the DVD is out of print, and a Blu-Ray release from the reputable Arrow Video was only available as an import (it goes for quite a few dollars now too). Still, if you don't mind viewing a copy with questionable picture quality, it's always available here on YouTube. And if that link goes down, perhaps waiting patiently for a re-release of the aforementioned disc formats is a good option as well.
On a (sort of) related note, I must apologize for the slight delay. Even with the hours thankfully piling up at my job, I promise that this won't become a regular habit. And besides, at least I'm talking about some works from more reputable directors for a change.
Speaking of that, tomorrow (today?), we see an appearance from Wes Craven on here, and I think you'd be...."amish" to skip this one.......
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